


your heart was glass (i dropped it)

by hopelessrdj



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:48:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28201860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopelessrdj/pseuds/hopelessrdj
Summary: Stephen thinks he knows himself so well. He believes he can predict how he would react and feel in certain sitations. That's until Tony kneels to the ground and asks him those four big words he didn't expect to hear
Relationships: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Comments: 11
Kudos: 26





	your heart was glass (i dropped it)

**Author's Note:**

> brought to you by taylor swift and her song champagne problems

Everyone knew they were doomed from the start. They had a natural chemistry from the day they first met and quickly became inseparable. They fell in love halfway through high school slowly and then all at once.

The longing stares turned into lingering touches and those to softly whispered I love you’s in the privacy of their rooms. They found the courage to tell the world the day their final year started and to their surprise no one questioned that decision.

By the time prom came around everyone in school knew they owned each other’s hearts. They slow danced in the middle of the ballroom not aware of the stares they’ve been getting this whole time for they’ve only had eyes for each other.

Moving in together during their first year of university was only natural. They’ve settled in nicely in their shared one bedroom apartment, with Tony sleeping on the left and Stephen on the right side of the bed.

Stephen had a routine of waking up 15 minutes before his boyfriend did and preparing tea for himself and coffee for his grumpy lover which always earned him a grateful kiss on the cheek. They were happy in the bubble of contentment they’ve created for themselves.

The first year ended without much fanfare, they both finished on top of their classes and left for two weeks for their well-deserved vacation in Europe. And as he took pictures of Stephen with Bruges’ canals behind him he couldn’t believe this is his life and this is his man and that’s how his future is going to be like forever

At the beginning of their second year he comes home for his parents’ anniversary alone while Stephen has to stay behind for one more final. He cannot keep it in anymore and uses that time to talk to Maria about the man he loves, about how he can no longer imagine his life without him.

When he tells her about his proposal plan she puts something in the palm of his hand and wraps his long fingers around it. The metal of the ring she gave him is cold against his skin but brings him more peace than he could have imagined

He planned to propose around Christmas while having both their families around. Maria never gets a chance to see her son ask the big question. The faulty brakes in the car they drove takes the opportunity away from both of his parents.

A few days later Stephen holds his hand through the funeral. The silver ring sits heavily in his pocket, a distant memory of the happiness his mother felt knowing her only child loves and is being loved in return.

When Tony takes over the company he considers leaving university behind but Stephen keeps him grounded. He’s a solid rock in the world that falls around him, he guides him through. A warm, reassuring presence, always at his side.

And when a year later he finds the ring again he’s more mature and steady and as he looks at his boyfriend, eyes heavy with sleep but still rereading the neurobiology notes while sitting by the kitchen counter he’s once again filled with certainty.

They look at themselves in the mirror, matching black velvet suits and their hair slicked back and Tony starts wondering how would they look in matching suits on their wedding day. They kiss slowly with passion an it takes all of his willpower to leave the house and go to the gala

The ring sitting securely in his right pocket. Tony knows they never discussed marriage but he feels sure about his decision. They’ve been together for years, through the best and the worst and he sees the love in his boyfriend’s eyes every single day.

And when he wraps his arm around Stephen waist and asks him to dance he thinks back to that prom so many years ago, how much mature they are and how they’ve grown, he compares the boyish smile on his soon to be fiancée’s face to the mysterious smirk he’s using right now

He kisses the corner of his mouth as he says

“What would you say if I asked you to marry me?” his tone playful, almost as if he’s joking.

But Stephen tenses involuntarily and drops his hand while dancing. But Tony doesn’t seem to notice or simply takes it as a surprise. Before he can change his mind he drops on one knee right there in the middle of the dance floor

“Stephen Vincent Strange, the love of my life, will you marry me?” he says

And if someone casually asked Stephen a week ago what would he say if Tony proposed to him he thinks he would have decided on “I will”

But the problem is sometimes you just don’t know the answer until someone’s on their knees and actually asks you. And as he looks into Tony’s brown loving eyes he knows he’s not ready. And he doesn’t think he ever will be.

And even though Stephen will never love Tony any less, he starts slowly shaking his head. As he sees the pleading look the man gives him he thinks he never truly deserved him.

“No” he whispers and he has to look away in order no to see the hurt expression he put on the face he loves the most in the world. He hates that he can’t even give him a reason for his refusal.

Stephen feels suffocated and he knows he has to go before he regrets his decision even more. As he turns around the first flash can be seen from the far side of the room. Then another. Soon they’re blinding his vision and he knows his face is going to end up on the news front page for all the wrong reasons.

Tony’s still of his knee as he watches Stephen’s back disappear behind the glass door. Someone rushes him to his feet as more pictures are being taken.

In the back of his mind there’s a voice reminding him he is supposed to give a speech in a minute or two but he’s left speechless as he looks around the room, at the shocked and devastated expressions on their friends’ faces.

Suddenly he couldn’t care less about the gala. All he needs to do is go home. Find Stephen. Explain. Apologize. Whatever he needs to do to make it better. But as he walks towards the doors Pepper stops him.

“You can’t go now, Tony, you know how important your presence here is for the company” she tells him, her delicate hand holding his arm in a grip way too strong for her looks.

She manages to keep him in place for almost an hour before he disappears through the side door. He knows tomorrow there will be headlines about him speeding through all the red lights and accusations of drunk driving but right now he couldn’t care any less.

He takes the stairs two at a time preparing himself for the worst. The screams, the tears, the inevitable hurt.

What he didn’t prepare himself for was the silence. The emptiness that makes his thoughts echo in their apartment, which was filled with so much love just this very morning. He wasn’t ready to look at their bedroom knowing he won’t find any sight of Stephen there.

But as he finds the courage and walks in he sees a single piece of paper on the nightstand written in that neat handwriting he knows so well.

“I’m sorry. I never mean to hurt you. You’ll find the real thing instead and won’t even remember me soon enough”

He places the ring beside the note on the bedside table, it’s weight in his pocket suddenly suffocating.

**Author's Note:**

> i survive on comments.  
> you canalso talk to me on twitter


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